1. Field of the Invention
Peanut spreads or peanut butter find wide use as a staple item of diets. Peanuts are rich in protein, carbohydrates, and oils and therefore provide excellent nutrients. There have been continuing efforts to improve the acceptance of peanut butter, as to its flavor, composition, appearance and characteristics on the palate.
Because of the sweetening effect of honey or other sweetening agents, they provide a desirable additional ingredient. However, significant amounts of these sweetening agents cannot be added without concomitant problems in preparation of the combined composition and in stability on storage. In the past, the addition of large amounts of honey, for example, to peanut butter had lead to a plastic product, which could not be readily agitated and resulted in a product of undesirable texture and color.
Because the various ingredients employed in peanut butters are normally naturally derived, they are complex mixtures of a variety of materials having different physical and chemical properties. For example, peanuts are a combination of vegetable oils which are hydrophobic and lipophilic and proteins and carbohydrates which are hydrophilic and lipophobic. Honey and syrups, which are a combination of saccharides and water, are of course hydrophilic. In addition, the sugars and fats are both independently crystallizable, so that the final product is a complex combination of disparate compounds. Therefore, it is found that care must be taken in combining the various compounds and, frequently, in the materials used, so that the final product is substantially homogeneous and retains this character for long periods of time. Also, during the preparation of the compound, it is essential that the materials remain capable of being mixed to a homogeneous composition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2.079,288 and 1,890,180 teach the combination of relatively high concentrations of honey with peanut butter and a blending oil. U.S. Pat. No. 1,416,387 teaches combining honey and peanut butter. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,883 teaches combining small amounts of honey with peanut butter and oils.